Wagering game combining cards and dice

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus, and computer readable storage to implement a wagering game that involves both cards and dice. A plurality of rows (e.g., six or other amount) can be dealt face down (or up). Players place wager(s) on individual betting areas (circles) that correspond to particular card values. A plurality of dice can be rolled which can be totaled, and the point total of the rolled dice is used to determine which row is selected. The selected row is turned over, and if the cards qualify for a winning payout, then any wager(s) placed on that row is paid a payout.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present general inventive concept is directed to a method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium directed to a casino wagering game involving cards and dice.

2. Description of the Related Art

The game of Chuck-a-luck has been offered in casinos. This game allows players at a casino to wager on direct outcomes of a dice roll of three dice.

The game of Crown and Anchor is another game although it does not typically appear in U.S. casinos. A player can wager on one or more symbols, and then three dice are thrown. Even money is paid of one of this bets occur, 2:1 is paid of two of the bets occur, and 3:1 if all three.

What is needed is a more exciting casino wagering game which can add more excitement than merely rolling and betting on dice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an exciting casino wagering game.

The above aspects can be obtained by (a) providing a physical deck of cards; (b) receiving, from a player, a wager placed on a chosen betting circle out of a plurality of betting circles; (c) dealing a plurality of hands from the physical deck of cards; (d) receiving rolled dice to generate a random outcome (e) determining a selected hand out of the plurality of hands based on the random outcome; and (f) determining if the chosen betting circle corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand, and if so, then paying the wager a payout, and if not then the wager is lost by the player and taken by the dealer.

These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method to implement a wagering game as described herein;

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a first phase of a wagering game, as described herein;

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second phase of a wagering game, as described herein;

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a third phase of a wagering game, as described herein;

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a fourth phase of a wagering game, as described herein;

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating hardware that can be used to implement an electronic gaming machine that can implement the methods described herein, according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating hardware that can be used to track play at a gaming table such as that used herein, according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

The present inventive concept relates to a method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium to implement a wagering game that uses both dice and cards. Player(s) make wagers on selected betting circles, each betting circle associated with a corresponding row of cards. A plurality of rows of cards is dealt, and then dice are rolled to select which row of the plurality of rows is selected to determine respective payouts for the wagers made.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a method to implement a wagering game as described herein.

The method can begin with operation 100, which receives a wager from a player. The player places his or her wager on one of six (or other number) of numbered betting circles. Each player can place one more wagers (which can be of equal amounts but they are not required to be), and multiple players can also place their respective wagers simultaneously. For simplicity, the method illustrated in FIG. 1 relates to a single wager but it can be appreciated that the same method will apply to multiple wagers by one or more players. The wager placed by a player typically is in the form of chips which can be directly redeemable for cash at a casino cashier. At this operation the dealer can also shuffle the cards used and also address any other initialization procedure before a new game is dealt.

From operation 100, the method proceeds to operation 102, wherein a dealer deals a plurality of hands of cards. The game can be dealt from a custom 54 card deck formed from three separate standard 52 card decks. All cards numbered 1 (ace) through 6 (using only the hearts, diamonds, and spades suits) can be taken out of each of those three standard decks and combined to form the custom deck. Thus, the custom deck has 54 cards, 9 cards for each rank (one through six), with each rank having three cards of the three suits. The game can be dealt on a standard gaming table of the kind used to play casino blackjack.

There can be six hands (or packets, etc.) dealt of three cards each (18 cards dealt total), although other numbers of rows can be used as well (e.g., 2-10) and another number of cards can be dealt in each row (e.g., 1-10). The cards are dealt face down, although in a further embodiment the cards can be dealt face up. The cards can be dealt in a “snake-like” fashion, with the first hand receiving the first, twelfth and thirteenth cards dealt, and the sixth hand receiving the sixth, seventh, and eighteenth card dealt. Cards can be dealt in other orders as well, for example simply dealing each hand from left to right before moving onto the lower row. Hands can be numbered horizontally from one through six wherein hand one is the left-most hand of three cards, hand two is the hand to the immediate right of the left-most hand of three cards, etc. Of course, the hands can be dealt in other arrangements as well (rows, columns, diagonally, etc.) and FIG. 2 illustrates just one example.

From operation 102, the method proceeds to operation 104, wherein dice are rolled. Depending on house rules, the dice can be rolled by a dealer, or by one of the players. The players can rotate the rolling of the dice around the table. The players can use an optional dice shaking cup before throwing out the dice onto the table. Three six-sided dice can be used, although in other embodiments other numbers of dice can be used.

From operation 104, the method proceeds to operation 106, which determines which hand of cards (from the hands of cards dealt in operation 102) is selected. The selected hand of cards is based on a point total from the dice roll (from operation 104). A table such as that in Table I can be used to make this determination.

TABLE I dice total selected hand 7, 13 1 8, 14 2 3, 9, 15 3 4, 10, 16 4 5, 11, 17 5 6, 12, 18 6

Thus, for each of the point totals of the dice roll (from operation 104) in the leftmost column of Table I, the hand of the second column in Table I is used. Thus, for example, if the three dice rolled are: (4, 5, 3), then this is a point total of 12 which from Table I means that the selected hand is hand 6 (the rightmost hand).

From operation 106, the method proceeds to operation 108, which reveals the selected hand. All cards in the selected hand are turned face up (unless they were dealt face up), and all other cards in other hands can be removed from the table.

From operation 108, the method proceeds to operation 110, which determines a payout (multiplier) for the wager (made in operation 100). The payout is determined based on the values of the selected hand, a payout schedule, and the number of the betting circle that the wager was placed in. Bets placed in betting circles that have the same value as one or more of the exposed cards in the selected hand are winners while bets placed in betting circles that do not have a value the same as any of the exposed cards in the selected hand are losers (and are taken by the house or dealer).

If all three of the cards in the selected hand are of different value, then even money will be paid on each wager made in a betting circle matching one of the different values, and all other wagers are losers. For example, if the selected hand is: 6-spades/two-hearts/ace-diamonds, then wagers placed in betting circles 1, 2, and 6 pay even money, while wagers placed in betting circles 3, 4, 5 are losers.

If two of the three cards are the same value, then wagers made in the betting circle with the same value as the two cards will pay 2:1, wagers made in the betting circle with the same value as the single card will pay 1:1 (even money), while wagers placed in all other betting circles are losers. For example, if the selected hand is: 3-spades/ace-diamonds/ace-diamonds, then wagers made on betting circle 1 pays 2:1, bets made on betting circle 3 pays 1:1, and all other wagers (betting circles 2, 4, 5, 6) are losers.

If all three of the cards in the selected hand are the same value, then wagers placed in the betting circle with the same value of the three cards pay 6:1 while wagers placed in all other betting circles are losers. For example, if the selected hand is: ace-hearts/ace-diamonds/ace-diamonds (or ace-diamonds/ace-spades/ace-hearts/) then wagers made on betting circle 1 are paid 6:1 and wagers placed on all other betting circles (2-6) are losers.

If all three cards are of the same value and the same suit, then wagers placed on the betting circle that matches the value of the cards will be paid 50:1 while wagers placed on all other betting circles (that do not match the value of the cards) are losers. For example, if the selected hand is: (ace-diamonds/ace-diamonds/ace-diamonds) then wagers made on betting circle 1 are paid 50:1 while wagers placed on all other betting circles (2-6) are losers.

The payouts described above (1:1 for one match, 2:1 for two matches, 6:1 for three non-suited matches, and 50:1 for three suited matches) are one choice of payouts, but numerous other payout schedules can be used as well. Table II below illustrates six possible payout schedules (numbered in the first row) that can be used. It can be appreciated that further variations of these payouts not listed herein can also be used as well. Also included in Table II are each payout schedules' house advantage, standard deviation, and hit frequency.

TABLE II Matches #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 0 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 non-suited 6 10 10 12 15 18 3 suited 50 25 100 60 75 75 House adv. 5.66% 4.66% 3.75% 3.58% 2.42% 1.44% Std. Dev. 1.27 1.26 1.65 1.45 1.61 1.71 Hit freq. 42.79% 42.79% 42.79% 42.79% 42.79% 42.79%

From operation 110, the method proceeds to operation 112, which determines (based on operation 110) if the wager (from operation 100) qualifies for a payout (is a winner). If not, then the method proceeds to operation 116, wherein the player loses the wager and it is collected by the dealer and placed in the dealer's rack of chips. The game ends here and a brand new game can begin at operation 100.

If in operation 112, it is determined (based on operation 110) that the wager (from operation 100) qualifies for a payout (is a winner), then the method proceeds to operation 114 wherein the appropriate payout is made to the player based on the determined payout (multiplier) and the amount of the wager. For example, if the wager is $1 and the determined payout is 1:1, then the dealer pays the player an additional $1 (in addition to the original $1 made by the player), thus the player can collect $2 for his own keeping. The game ends here and a new game can begin by return to operation 100.

It is noted that while the singular “wager” is used in FIG. 1 for simplicity, multiple wagers can be placed at operation 100 by one or more players, and each wager would be processed using the method illustrated in FIG. 1.

In order to help illustrate the game, FIGS. 2-5 represent one exemplary game played in sequence using methods described herein. It can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that this is merely one example, and that a myriad of other actual game instances can occur. Assume that this example game uses payout schedule #1 from Table II.

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a first phase of a wagering game, as described herein.

A first player places (operation 100) a $1 wager on betting circle 2 while a second player places (operation 100) a $5 wager on betting circle 5.

The cards are dealt using the special deck (operation 102) by a dealer in six hands of three cards each (although in other embodiments other numbers cards can be used). A first hand 201, a second hand 202, a third hand 203, a fourth hand 204, a fifth hand 205, and a sixth hand 206 are dealt.

Six betting circles are on the table layout, each numbered from 1 to 6. The first betting circle (number 1) corresponds to the ace-valued cards, the second betting circle (number 2) corresponds to 2-valued cards, the third betting circle (number 3) corresponds to 3-valued cards, the fourth betting circle (number 4) corresponds to 4-valued cards, the fifth betting circle corresponds to 5-valued cards, and the sixth betting circle corresponds to 6-valued cards. Thus, for example, if a player “feels” that the selected hand (after the dice roll) will have 6's in it, then the player would bet on the sixth betting circle.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second phase of a wagering game, as described herein.

Three standard six-sided dice are rolled (operation 104) to a random result, resulting in: 5/4/5, for a point total of 14. Using Table I, a point total of 14 determines (operation 106) that hand 2 is the selected hand.

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a third phase of a wagering game, as described herein.

Since hand 2 is the selected hand, all of the other cards from the remaining hands (hands 1, 3, 4, 5, 6) are removed.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a fourth phase of a wagering game, as described herein.

The cards in hand 2 are now exposed (operation 108). The selected hand is: 5-hearts/5-spades/3-spades. There are two 5's in the hand and one 3. Thus bets on betting circle 5 would pay 2:1 (since betting circle 5 corresponds to card value 5 and there are two of them), bets on betting circle 3 would pay 1:1 (since betting circle 3 corresponds to card value 3 and there is only one of them) and bets on all other betting circles would lose. Thus, the first player (who bet on betting circle 2) loses. The second player who bet $5 on betting circle 5 wins a payout of 2:1 or wins $10 (in addition to keeping his or her original $5 wager) for a total of $15 in chips the second player can pocket (or bet again).

FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating hardware that can be used to implement an electronic gaming machine that can implement the methods described herein, according to an embodiment.

A processing unit 600 can be a microprocessor and any associated structure (e.g., bus, cache, etc.) The processing unit 600 can be connected to an input device 601 (e.g., as keyboard, buttons, touch-screen, mouse, etc.) and an output device 602 (e.g., touch-screen, LCD display, speakers, etc.) The processing unit 600 can also be connected to a network connection 603 which can be used to connect to a computer communications network such as wifi, LAN, WAN, Internet, etc. The processing unit 600 can also be connected to a bill acceptor 604, which can receive cash deposited by a player at the machine and credit the machine's credit meter with the appropriate amount of credits. The processing unit 600 can also be connected to a ticket printer 605 which, upon cashout by the player, can print a cashless ticket (voucher) for the amount on the machine's credit meter which can then be directly redeemable by the player for cash at a kiosk or casher in the casino. The processing unit 600 can also be connected to a RAM 606 and a ROM 607. The processing unit 600 can also be connected to a storage device 608 (e.g., hard drive, floppy disk drive, CD-ROM drive, DVD-drive, EPROM, etc.) which can read a compatible computer readable storage medium 609 (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, EPROM, etc.) The computer readable storage medium 609 can store on it instructions that can control the processing unit 600 to implement the methods described herein, wherein the output device 602 displays the gameplay and the input device 601 receives the player's actions.

FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating hardware that can be used to track play at a gaming table such as that used herein, according to an embodiment.

When a player plays at a gaming table, the play therein can be tracked electronically. This can be accomplished by receiving a player's players card at a gaming table 610. The players card typically has electronically encoded information (such as a magnetic stripe) which identifies the player (e.g., by the player's identification number). The players card can be swiped (read) into the card reader 611 by a dealer or casino staff member so that the identity of the player can be known to the system. The player's play at the gaming table 610 can then be tracked by an electronic casino database 612 which is in communication with a terminal (not pictured) located near the gaming table 610 in which casino personnel can enter data about each player's particular play (e.g., average wager, play time, etc.) In this manner, the casino database 612 can maintain records about different players so that the casino can provide incentives to players to continue returning and playing at the casino.

Any description of a component or embodiment herein also includes hardware, software, and configurations which already exist in the prior art and may be necessary to the operation of such component(s) or embodiment(s).

Further, the operations described herein can be performed in any sensible order. Any operations not required for proper operation can be optional. Further, all methods described herein can also be stored on a computer readable storage to control a computer.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

1. A method to play a wagering game, the method comprising: providing a physical deck of cards; receiving, from a player, a wager placed on a chosen betting area out of a plurality of betting area; dealing a plurality of hands from the physical deck of cards; receiving rolled dice to generate a random outcome; determining a selected hand out of the plurality of hands based on the random outcome; and determining if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand, and if so, then paying the wager a payout, and if not then the wager is lost by the player and taken by the dealer.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the deck of cards is a nonstandard deck consisting of nine aces and nine 2's and nine 3's and nine 4's and nine 5's and nine 6's.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the aces correspond to a first betting area, the 2's correspond to a second betting area, the 3's correspond to a third betting area, the 4's correspond to a fourth betting area, the 5's correspond to a fifth betting area, and the 6's correspond to a sixth betting area.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is only one of the card value in the selected hand then the payout is a first payout.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is only two of the card value in the selected hand then the payout is a second payout, the second payout being higher than the first payout.
 6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is three of the card value in the selected hand then the payout is a third payout, the third payout being higher than the second payout.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is three of the card value in the selected hand and the three cards in the selected hand are all of a same suit then the payout is a fourth payout, the fourth payout being higher than the third payout.
 8. An electronic gaming device to play a wagering game, the device comprising: an input device; an output device; a processing unit configured to operate with the input device and the output device, the processing unit configured to execute instructions that perform: receiving, from a player, a wager placed on a chosen betting area out of a plurality of betting area; dealing a plurality of hands from a virtual deck of cards; rolling dice to generate a random outcome; determining a selected hand out of the plurality of hands based on the random outcome; and determining if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand, and if so, then paying the wager a payout, and if not then the wager is lost by the player and taken by the dealer.
 9. The device as recited in claim 8, wherein the deck of cards is a nonstandard deck consisting of nine aces and nine 2's and nine 3's and nine 4's and nine 5's and nine 6's.
 10. The device as recited in claim 9, wherein the aces correspond to a first betting area, the 2's correspond to a second betting area, the 3's correspond to a third betting area, the 4's correspond to a fourth betting area, the 5's correspond to a fifth betting area, and the 6's correspond to a sixth betting area.
 11. The device as recited in claim 8, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is only one of the card value in the selected hand then the payout is a first payout.
 12. The device as recited in claim 11, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is only two of the card value in the selected hand then the payout is a second payout, the second payout being higher than the first payout.
 13. The device as recited in claim 12, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is three of the card value in the selected hand then the payout is a third payout, the third payout being higher than the second payout.
 14. The device as recited in claim 13, wherein if the chosen betting area corresponds to at least one card value of cards in the selected hand and there is three of the card value in the selected hand and the three cards in the selected hand are all of a same suit then the payout is a fourth payout, the fourth payout being higher than the third payout. 